Get the Perfect Winter/Fall Seed Mix for Raised Garden Beds

Choosing the right crops for your fall and winter raised garden beds comes down to cold tolerance, harvest timing, and productivity. It usually takes a lot of research to narrow down the right varieties for the season, but Vego Garden has taken the guesswork out of it. 

Their Winter/Fall Seed Mix includes quick growers, steady producers, and nutrient-dense staples, all carefully selected to thrive in true fall and winter conditions. Here’s a closer look at each crop and what you can expect when growing them.

1. Organic Mizuna Greens

Also known as Japanese mustard greens, mizuna is hardy to USDA Zones 4–9 and thrives in cool weather with tolerance to light frosts. It matures in 40–50 days, though baby greens can be harvested in as little as 20 days. A cut-and-come-again crop, mizuna produces multiple flushes of leaves throughout the season. It’s an annual, non-invasive, and relatively pest-resistant, though flea beetles can sometimes be an issue.

2. Waltham 29 Broccoli

A classic cool-season staple, Waltham 29 is well-suited for USDA Zones 3–10 and thrives in fall and winter gardens. This cold-tolerant broccoli takes 70–90 days from seed to harvest, producing a compact main head (4–8 inches across) followed by smaller side shoots for extended harvests. It’s an annual crop, and growers should watch for common pests like cabbage worms.

3. Scarlet Nantes Carrot

This heirloom carrot grows well in USDA Zones 3–9 and takes about 65–75 days to mature. It produces uniform, sweet, cylindrical roots about 6–7 inches long. Scarlet Nantes is an annual crop that becomes even sweeter after light frosts, and the roots can be picked young as baby carrots or left to mature for full size.

4. Danvers 126 Carrot

This hardy biennial is typically grown as an annual and produces 6–8 inch roots that mature in 65–75 days. Cooler temperatures help enhance sweetness and flavor, and both the roots and leafy greens are edible, providing a dual harvest from one plant.

5. Organic Purple Magnolia Pea

This striking pea variety thrives in USDA Zones 3–9 and matures in 65–70 days. A vigorous vining type, it grows 6–8 feet tall and performs best with trellising in raised garden beds. The pods are a vibrant purple and edible, with plants producing steadily over several weeks. As with other peas, it’s an annual crop and can be susceptible to aphids and powdery mildew in damp conditions.

6. Lacinato Dinosaur Kale

A cold-hardy, nutrient-rich leafy green, this kale does well in Zones 3–9 and matures in 60–80 days, though baby leaves can be harvested earlier. Plants reach 2–3 feet tall and continue producing leaves until hard freezes, often improving in flavor after frost. Lacinato kale is a biennial typically grown as an annual and may attract cabbage loopers, flea beetles, and aphids.

7. Organic French Breakfast Radish

This radish is ready in just 25–30 days, making it one of the fastest crops to grow in fall garden beds. The roots are slender with a red top and white tip, crisp in texture, and mild in flavor. As an annual, it’s easy to tuck into raised garden beds for quick harvests throughout the season.

8. Organic Snowball Y Cauliflower

This heirloom cauliflower thrives in Zones 3–9 and takes about 65–85 days to form dense white heads, usually 6–8 inches across. Each plant gives one solid harvest as an annual crop, but they’re highly susceptible to brassica pests, especially cabbage worms and aphids, so keep a close eye during the growing season.

9. Copenhagen Market Cabbage

This compact cabbage variety grows well in Zones 3–10 and takes 65–75 days to form tight, round heads weighing about 4–5 pounds each. Itćs a reliable annual and cold-hardy through light frosts. The main pests to watch for are cabbage loopers and cutworms, which often hide between the leaves, so it’s worth checking inside the heads regularly.

10. Organic Sugar Snap Pea

Another pea in the mix, but with a distinctly sweet, crunchy flavor. This cool-season favorite grows well in Zones 3–9 and matures in 60–70 days. The vines reach 5–6 feet tall and need trellising for support, producing heavy yields of crisp, edible pods over several weeks.

11. Organic Detroit Dark Red Beet

Beets are a cool-season staple that grow well in Zones 2–10 and mature in 55–65 days. Cooler temperatures bring out their sweetness, making fall an ideal time to grow them. Both the deep red roots and the leafy greens are edible and packed with nutrients, giving you a dual harvest from one crop.

12. Organic Rainbow Swiss Chard

This colorful leafy green matures in 50–60 days, though baby leaves can be harvested much earlier. It keeps producing new leaves continuously through cool weather, giving a steady supply of much needed nutrient-rich foliage.

Final Thoughts

You could go to the nearest store and pick out a mix of fall and winter seeds yourself, or you could go with a ready-to-go seed mix that’s been carefully selected to work harmoniously together. No worries about plants overtaking each other, just a reliable, productive, and balanced cool-season garden bed that will give you a successful fall and winter harvest.